Chapter 3
Thorin Oakenshield
We head to the door and Gandalf opens the door. A darf with long dark hair stood in the doorway with a cloak on. He didn't look impressed.
"Gandalf. I thought you said this place would be easy to find." He said. He walked as he talked, taking off his cloak in the process. "I lost my way, twice. Wouldn't have found it if it had not been for that mark on the door." Thorin turned to look at Gandalf as Bilbo pushed his way through the crowd. I rolled my eyes as I stood next to Fili.
"Mark? There's no mark on that door. It was painted a week ago." Bilbo said.
"Father. Calm down." I said, rolling my eyes as Bilbo shot me a glare. Gandalf closes the door.
"There is a mark, I put it there myself. Bilbo Baggins and Bell Baggins, allow me to introduce the leader of our Company, Thorin Oakenshield." Gandalf said. Thorin eyed me for a few minutes and then eyes landed on Bilbo.
"So." Thorin said, handing Kili his cloak. "This is the Hobbit. Tell me, Mr. Baggins, have you done much fighting?" Thorin circles Bilbo studying him.
"Pardon me?" Bilbo asked.
"Axe or sword? What's your weapon of choice?" Thorin asked.
"Well, I have some skill at Conkers, if you must know, but I fail to see why that's relevant." Bilbo said.
"What about the girl?" Thorin asked, looking at me.
"I now how to cook and sew, but I know how to use a bow and arrow." I said. It wasn't a lie. My mother was a hunter before her and my father started to court and used a bow and arrow and I inherited her skills in archery and use her bow all the time. Fili and Kili looked at me in amazement.
"Looks like the girl is better at this journey then her husband." Thorin said.
"Excuse me, but he's my father, not my husband." I said, sternly.
"I'm sorry, miss. I didn't know." Thorin said, surprised I lashed out suddenly. I turned on my heal and went to the kitchen. I spooned out a bowl of soup and got a mug of ale for Thorin. I came into the dining room and set them in front of him. "Thank you." I nod as Fili waved me over to the empty seat between him and Kili. I joined them.
"No one has ever stood up to our uncle like that." Fili said.
"He's your uncle?" I ask.
"Yes. Your one brave lass." Kili said. I just shook my head at them.
"What news from the meeting in Ered Luin? Did they all come?" Balin asked.
"Aye. Envoys from all seven kingdoms." Thorin said. There were murmors of joy among the dwarves.
"What do the dwares of the Iron Hills say? Is Dain with us?" Dwalin asked.
"They will not come." Thorin said. There were disappointment murmors among the dwarves this time. "They say this quest is ours, and ours alone." Bilbo comes into view behind Thorin.
"You're going on a quest?" Bilbo asked. I looked at him and could see the wonder in his eyes, but saw hesitation.
"Bilbo, my dear fellow, let us have a little more light." Gandalf said. Bilbo goes to bring a candle as Gandalf spread a piece of paper out on the table. I saw it was a map with my keen eyes. "Far to the East, over ranges and rivers, beyond woodlands and wastelands, lies a single solitary peak." Bilbo leans over the table with the candle in his hand.
"The Lonely Mountain." Bilbo read. My eyes widen as I recognize it, for I have heard and read stories about it. Erebor. The Mountain that was one of the Dwarvish Kingdoms and also where Smaug, the dragon took it from them. These were the dwarves of Erebor?
"Aye. Oin has read the portents, and the portents say it is time." The red hair dwarf that I remembered as Gloin said.
"Ravens have been seen flying back to the mountain as it was foretold: When the birds of yore return to Erebor, the reign of the beast will end." Oin said. I looked at Fili who was looking towards Thorin.
"Uh, what beast?" Bilbo asked.
"Well that would be a reference to Smaug the Terrible, chiefest and greatest calamity of our age. Airborne fire-breather, teeth like razors, claws like meathooks, extremely fond of precious metals..." Bofur never finished.
"Yes, I know what a dragon is." Bilbo snapped. I shook my head at my father as Ori stood up suddenly.
"I'm no afraid! I'm up for it. I'll give him a taste of the Dwarfish iron right up his jacksie." The youngest dwarf that I think was Ori said. There were several shouts.
"He's one brave one." I said.
"He's the youngest of all of us." Fili said.
"Sit down." A older dwarf that I remembered as Dori said, pulling Ori down to sit.
"The task would be difficult enough with an army behind us. But we number just thirteen and not not thirteen of the best, or brightest. There were several complaints.
"Hey, who are you calling dim?" Nori asked.
"Watch it." Dori said.
"No." Nori said.
"What did he say?" Oin asked.
"We may be few in number, but we're fighters, all of us, to the last dwarf!" Fili said, slamming his fist into the table.
"And you forget, we have a wizard in our company. Gandalf will have killed hundreds of dragons in his time." Kili said. I held back a laugh at Kili's innocence.
"Oh, well, now, uh, I wouldn't say that..." Gandalf began.
"How many, then?" Dori asked.
"Uh, what?" Gandalf asked.
"Well, how many dragons have you killed?" Dori asked. Thorin gave Gandalf a questioning look and I raised my eyebrow at him. Gandalf begins to choke on his smoke. "Go on, give us a number!" Dwarves jump to their feet, arguing about the number of dragons Gandalf killed. Fili and Kili had joined and I just sat and listened. Thorin jumps to his feet in angers.
"Shazara!" Thorin yells. Everyone sits in their seats looking at Thorin in silence. "If we have read these signs, do you not think others will have read them too? Rumors have begun to spread. The dragon Smaug has not been seen for 60 years. Eyes look east to the Mountain, assessing, wondering, weighing the risk. Perhaps the vast wealth of our people now lies unprotected. Do we sit back while others claim what is rightfully ours? Or do we seize this chance to take back Erebor? Du Bekar! Du Bekar!" Thorin sits down as all the dwarves cheer.
"You forget: The front gate is sealed. There is no way into the mountain." Balin said.
"That, my dear Balin, is not entirely true." Gandalf said as a key appears in his hand. Thorin looks at it in wonder.
"How came you by this?" Thorin asked.
"It was given to me by your father, by Thrain, for safekeeping. It is yours now." Gandalf said, handing the key over to Thorin, who looked at it.
"If there is a key, there must be a door." Fili said. Gandalf points to the map with the stem of his pipe.
"These runes speak of a hidden passage to the lower halls." Gandalf said. Kili put his hand on Fili's and my shoulders.
"There's another way in." Kili said.
"If we can find it. Dwarf doors are invisible when closed." I said. Everyone looked at me with amazement.
"How do you know about this, lass?" Dwalin asked.
"I love to read anything that I can get my hands on." I said. The dwarves nod and Fili gives me a smile. Gandalf nods in approval.
"The anser lies hidden somewhere in this map and I do not have the skill to find it. But there are others in Middle-earth who can. The task I have in mind will require a great deal of stealth, and no small amount of courage. But, if we are careful and cleaver, I believe that it can be done." Gandalf said.
"That's why we need a burglar." Ori said.
"Hm, a good one, too. An expert, I'd imagine." Bilbo said.
"And are you?" Gloin asked. I looked at shock. They were asking if Bilbo was a burglar.
"Am i what?" Bilbo asked.
"He said he's an expert! Hey hey!" Oin said.
"Me? No, no, no, no, no. I'm not a burglar, I've never stolen a thing in my life." Bilbo said.
"I'm afraid I have to agree with Mr. Baggins. He's hardly burglar material." Balin said.
"Aye. The wild is no place for gentlefolk who can neither fight nor fend for themselves." Dwalin said. There were a lot of complaints and agreements and I shrunk back a bit. Gandalf stood up in anger and casts darkness over the group, silencing them all as they leaned back in fear.
"Enough! If I say Bilbo Bagginsis a burglar, then a burglar he is." Gandalf said in a harsh and almost dark voice. He goes back to normal. "Hobbits are remarkably light on their feet. In fact, they can pass unseen by most if they choose. And while the dragon is accustomed to the smell of dwarf, the scent of hobbit is all but unknown to him, which gives us a distinct advantage. You asked me to find the fourteenth member of this company, and I have chosen Mr. Baggins along with his daughter, because he won't leave without her. There's a lot more to both of them than appearances suggest, and they both got a great deal more to offer than any of you know, including himself. You must trust me on this."
"I'm not bringing a woman. She'll hold us back." Thorin growled.
"I am a good shot when it comes to a bow and I can sew and help cook. Let me come." I said with coldness in my voice.
"Let her come uncle and I will be the one responsible for her. I'll protect her." Fili said, suddenly. I looked at him in shock.
"You don't..." I began, but Thorin held up his hand.
"Fine then. Fili. You will be responsible and protect her then. Girl. You will help with whatever is needed and if you fall behind, you better find a way to catch up or be left behind. Gandalf. We'll do it your way then. Give him the contract and make up one for the girl." Thorin said. I looked down as Balin handed a contract over to Bilbo and Thorin and Gandalf talked.
"You didn't have to." I said.
"I wanted to so that you can come. You deserve to see Middle Earth." Fili said.
"Thank you." I said. Fili brought my hand up and kissed it. I blushed earning a chuckle from Fili and a nudge from Kili.
"Terms: Cash on delivery, up to but not exceeding one fourteenth of total profit, if any. Seems fair. Eh, present company shall not be liable for injuries inflicted by or sustained as a consequence there of including but not limited to lacerations... evisceration... incineration?" Bilbo asked, looking at the Company. I raised an eyebrow at the look of worry on my father's face.
"Oh, aye, he'll melt the flesh off your bones in the blink of an eye." Bofur said. Bilbo looked pale.
"Father?" I ask, standing up quickly and heading his way.
"You all right, laddie?" Balin asked. Bilbo bends over, looking nauseous and in pain. I bit my lip.
"Uh yeah. Feel a bit faint." Bilbo said. Bofur stands up and heads to talk to Bilbo.
"Think furnace with wings." Bofur said.
"Air, I. I. I need air." Bilbo said.
"Bofur stop." I said.
"Flash of light, searing pain, then Poof! You're nothing more than a pile of ash." Bofur said. Bilbo was breathing heavily as I reached the door and stood watching him.
"Hmmm. Nope!" Bilbo said. He falls to the floor in faint. I ran over to him and knelt next to him.
"Ah, very helpful, Bofur." Gandalf said as Fili and Kili hurry past him with a look of dislike from Thorin, and helped me get Bilbo off the floor and into his favorite arm chair. I head into the kitchen to make a pot of tea as Bilbo started to awaken. I stared into the fire. Me on an adventure.
"Here lass. Here's the contract." Balin said, pulling me out of my thoughts. I took it and signed it.
"Thank you." I said.
"Welcome to the Company of Thorin Oakenshield. Could I have a cup as well?" Balin asked.
"Of course." I said. I pulled the kettle off and poured two cups. I hand one over to Balin and head to give the other to Bilbo, who was awake. I stepped away as Gandalf gave him the cup. I head to the kitchen to put stuff away.
"So your going?" Bilbo asked ten minutes later as I finished.
"Yes. I wanted to go on an adventure for awhile and I'm getting the wish." I said, pushing by him. He grabbed my arm.
"I don't want you to go. Your my only child." Bilbo said.
"I'm not a child anymore father. I might not come of age for two more years, but I'm still an adult that can make my own choices. Excuse me. I bneed to pack." I said. I head to my room after grabbing my mothers bow and quiver of arrows. I packed a bag of clothes and stuff I might need for the adventure.
"I'm glad your coming." A voice came, making me jump. Fili stood in the doorway with a beautiful smirk on his handsome face.
"I'm glad I am. Need to get out and see Middle-Earth." I said.
"Well it will be sure nice to get to know you more." Fili said, taking my hand and kissing it, making me blush more. "Come. You must hear this." Fili pulled me out of my room and into the living room where dwarves were starting to gather. Fili stood by the fireplace with Thorin on the other side. All of the dwarves were smoking their pipes. Thorin started to sing.
"Far over the misty mountains cold. To dungeons deep and caverns old. We must away ere break of day. To find our long-forgotten gold." Thorin sang. The other dwarves joined in, while the others hummed. I listened with interest.
"The pines were roaring on the height. The winds were moaning in the night. The fire was red, it flaming spread. The trees like torches blazed with light." The dwarves sang. Fili looked at me and I gave him a smile. He returned it.
"Get to bed. We leave at first light." Thorin said, throwing me a glance. I gave a nod and head to bed with thoughts of dragons, elves, and a certain blonde hair dwarf with startling blue eyes.
AN: There's the new chapter and man was it a long one. I hope you all loved it. There will be more moments with Fili and Bell. Till next time.